Drafting apparatus of textile spinning and like machines



y 1958 J. CALVERT ErAL DRAFTING APPARATUS OF TEXTILE SPINNING AND LIKE MACHINES Filed Feb. 24, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 DRAFTING APPARATUS 0F TEXTILE SPINNING AND LIKE MACHINES Filed Feb. 24, 1954 May 20, 1958 J- CALVERT ETAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 DRAFTENG APPARATUS F TEXTILE SPINNING AND LIKE MACHINES James Calvert, Clayton le-Moors, near Accriugton, and Reginald Mayman Blackburn, Accrington, England, assignors to T. M. M. (Research) Limited, Oldham, England Application February 24, 1954, Serial No. 412,348

Claims priority, application Great Britain February 27, 1953 Claims. (Cl. 19-130) spective companion lower elements or a position in which the arms are raised clear of the lower drafting elements. Heretofore apparatus of such type has suffered from the difiiculty of ensuring that the upper elements are precisely located with respect to the lower elements, and the required conditions of true parallelism and perfect registration of upper and lower elements are not easily obtained.

With the object of providing an improved drafting apparatus of the aforesaid type, by which the aforesaid disadvantages will be obviated, it is proposed by the present invention that the bearing brackets or other holders by which the elements are mounted on the supporting arms shall be provided with downward projections or fingers which, when the arms occupy the operative position, will engage the corresponding lower elements and thereby serve to locate the upper elements so that they are maintained in correct registration with the lower elements. Registration means of this kind may also be effective to ensure that, after the upper elements have been raised from the bottom elements, e. g. for cleaning purposes or whilst threading up or piecing a roving or the like, they will be restored precisely to their correct positions in relation to the bottom elements when the supporting arms are again lowered and the upper elements are're-weighted.

If desired, the same means maybe usedto locate and maintain an upper element in a position in which its :axis is displaced somewhat ahead of .or to the rear of the axis of the companion bottom element, and provision may also be made for the adjustment of the positionof the'projecting fingers relative 10211116 element holder.

The invention also provides an improved loading arrangement, wherein the upper elements are mounted on the upper surfaces of pivotal supporting arms so as to ,permi-t independent removal of an element without disturbance of the arm from its operative position, and wherein said upper elements .are loaded through the medium of independently pivoted weighting arms which may be pro vided with releasable catches by means of which the rollersupporting arms and the weighting :arms may cc-supported independently in a raised position.

The manner in which the invention may :be carried into effect is hereinafter described with reference :to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings. ln said drawings, Fig. l is a sectional elevation of the drafting apparatus of a ring spinning machine, incorporating the invention, Fig. 2 is a separate detail view containing a perspective illustration of the means employed formounting the upper drafting rollers, and .Fig. 3 is a-simila'r viewto Fig. l,.illus States Patent trating the application of the invention to a drafting apparatus wherein the rollers are loaded through the medium of a saddle resting thereon.

The apparatus shown in Fig. 1 comprises the upper and lower back rollers 1t 11; the upper intermediate roller 12 which co-operates with the roller 13 which drives an apron 1d guided conventionally about the forward guidemember or tensor 15 and a tensioning roller 16; and the upper and lower front rollers 17, 13. A self-weighted slip draft roller is provided at 19, and the lower drafting elements are mounted in bearin -blocks carried by a roller stand in well-known manner.

The upper rollers are of well-known duplex form, each co-axial pair being mounted upon a common arbor of which the portion intermediate the rollers is journalled in a bearing bracket or holder upon a single supporting arm. In this case the bearing brackets are conveniently constructed in the manner shown in Fig. 2 (which illustrates the front top roller mounting), comprising two spaced side-cheeks 2b which are connected by two cross-members 21 and 22, the member 21 being drilled to receive a screw 23 by which it is adjustably secured upon the upper face of a roller-supporting arm 24. The side-cheeks are fashioned with hearing slots 201 in which the arbor 171 of the rollers 17 is received. In the case of the bearing bracket for the front rollers, the side-cheeks are preferably extended rearwards to provide a mounting for the arbor of the slip roller 19. An angular displacement of the brackets upon the arm 24 is conveniently countered by the engagement of a projection 221 on the underside of the cross-member 22 with the slot 241 in said arm 24 through which the screw 23 is passed.

The correct alignment of the rollers iii, 12, 17 and 19 is assisted by the wide spacing between the bearing slots 201 of the bearing bracket side-cheeks 20.

The arm 24 is pivoted at 25 upon a bracket 26 which is secured upon the fixed horizontal bar 27 extending along the rear of the roller stand, the arrangement permitting said arm, together with the several rollers mounted thereon, to be raised out of the operative position shown in Fig. 1 to an inclined position in which free access is made to the lower rollers and the apron assembly. The arm 24 may be retained in such raised position by attaching it to the loading arm 36 by the means hereinafter referred to when said loading arm is itself retained in the raised position.

The arm 24 is adapted to be secured in the operative position by means of a spring clip 28 which is attached to the underside of the tensor bar 15. The upper extremity of said clip is arranged to pass through the slot 241 in the arm 24 so that a lug 281 on said clip will project over the cross-member 21 and secure the armagainst upward displacement. The arm can be freed by pressing the clip rearwardly until the lug 281 is clearer" the arm, when the latter may be raised.

As already mentioned, the bearing-brackets for the upper rollers ll 12, 17 and 119 are mounted upon the upper surface of the arm 24, and since the bearings are open on their upper side, each of said rollers may removed independently without disturbing the other roflers and Without disturbing the arm 24 from its operative position.

It will be seen that each bearing-bracket of the upper rollers is furnished at the front with a pair of spaced downwardly projecting fingers 29, which in the present embodiment are constituted by integral extensions of the side-cheeks 20 of said brackets. In the operative position of the arm 2-; each pair of said fingers 29 rest against the front surface of the subjacent lower roller 11, 13 or 18, ensuring that the positions of the upper rollers 10, 12 and 17 are correctly determined by relation to thepositions of their respective companion rollers, any relative displacement of upper and lower rollers during operation being positively prevented. Since the degree of pressure exerted by the fingers 29 upon the lower rollers will not exceed that necessary to ensure correct location of the upper rollers, the arrangement will not sensibly affect the power required to drive the lower rollers. It will also be apparent that any tendency for the arm 24 to slew laterally out of its correct position will be checked by the consequent increase in the pressure of the fingers 29 on the lower rollers, so that the arm 24 will automatically be held with the upper rollers in correct alignment.

The register fingers 29 are also useful in enabling any of the upper rollers to be located accurately in a position slightly in advance of the corresponding lower roller, as in the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1. If desired, the fingers 29 may be provided with means for their adjustment upon the bracket side-cheeks 20 in a fore-and-aft direction, to afford means of regulating the distance by which the axis of an upper roller may be displaced in advance of or to the rear of the axis of its companion roller.

The roller-weighting arrangement comprises a loading arm 30, also pivoted at 25 to the brackets 26, and provided in its underside with three leaf-type springs 31, 32 and 33 the free ends of which, when the loading arm 30 is locked to the roller-supporting arm 24, bear respectively upon the arbors of the upper rollers 10, 12 and 17 and thereby communicate the desired loading pressure thereto. The positions at which the springs 31, 32 and 33 are attached to the arm 30 may be varied to suit alterations in the relative spacing of the lines of drafting rollers. This form of loading arrangement is advantageous in that the position and control of the upper rollers is unaffected by the loading means, whilst the proportionate loading of the rollers is unaffected by their location.

The loading arm 30 is locked to the roller-supporting arm 24 by means of a catch 34, the hooked extremity of which is arranged to engage the end of the arm 24 as shown in Fig. 1. Said catch 34 is provided with a crosspin 35 adapted to slide in slots 36 in the bifurcated end of the 'arm 30. Pivoted on said pin 35 is a lever 37 combined with which is a cam 38, and the arrangement is such that when the lever 37 is pressed backwardly the lobe of the cam 38 bears against the upper surface of the part 301 of the arm 30, thereby forcing the pin 35 upwardly to draw the catch 34 into the position in which it will engage the arm 24. Conversely, a forward pull on the lever 37 will rotate the cam into a position in which it will no longer support the pin 35 at the top of the slots 36, and the catch 34 is free to drop away from the arm 24, so that the loading arm 30 can be raised.

The loading arm 30 is adapted to be yieldably retained in the raised or inoperative position by the engagement of a spring catch 46 with a projection 47 on the bracket 26. As previously stated, the roller-supporting arm 24 is held in the raised position by engaging the catch 34 of the loading arm.

In the alternative embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3, the apron assembly is substituted by a conventional single lower intermediate roller 131. The upper rollers 10, 12 and 17 are mounted in open bearings carried upon the upper surface of the pivotal roller-supporting arm 24 and the bearing bracket of each upper roller is provided with depending register fingers 29 which locate the upper rollers by reference to their companion lower rollers. The roller-weighting apparatus is in this case of the saddle type, a loading arm 39 (which is pivoted coaxially with the roller arm 24 at 25) being arranged to bear at its forward extremity upon the arbor 171 of the front upper roller 17, whilst a saddle 40, pivoted to the arm 39 at 41, distributes loading pressure between the arbors of the rollers and 12. The downward force of a weight or a loading spring (not shown), applied to a stirrup 42 is transferred to the arm 39 in known fashion by means of a cam-lever 43, which carries a cross-pin 44 arranged to slide in slots 45 provided in spaced lugs 391 which form parts of the arm 39. The cam-lever 43 is adapted to be rotated about the axis of the pin 44, until it reaches the position shown in Fig. 3 when, by hearing against the upper surface of the arm 39, the cam-portion of said lever raises the pin 44 to the top of the slots 45 and the loading pressure is sustained by the arm 39.

It is desirable that the distance between the top of the loading arm and the nip of the rollers should be as small as possible and the two arrangements hereinbefore described, wherein the upper rollers are mounted in open bearings on the upper surface of the arm 24, contributes greatly. to the fulfilment of this requirement. Furthermore, it is possible to employ a clearer 48 for the upper front rollers 17, which extends over a full box length of a machine, thereby avoiding the disadvantages associated with the use of a large number of short clearers.

It is an advantage of the present invention that a simple and inexpensive method can be employed for the pivotal mounting of the roller-supporting arms 24. Instead of the carefully fitted and machined parts which 'have hitherto been essential to ensure accurate location of the upper rollers, it is now possible to employ a plain pivot the only requirements of which are simply that it shall permit the arm 24 to be raised and lowered freely and that the pivoted end of the arm shall be prevented from lateral movement at the pivot 25. In such circumstances it is possible to employ a pivot mounting which permits the assembly of the top rollers, the roller support arm 24 and the weighting arm 30 (or 39) to be readily applied to or removed from the 'pivot shaft without necessitating the disturbance of other parts.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. Textile drafting apparatus comprising, in combination, a plurality of lower drafting elements, means for supporting said lower drafting elements in predetermined positions, a plurality of upper drafting elements each movable into and out of opposed relation to one of the lower drafting elements, an arm for supporting the upper drafting elements, bearings for said upper drafting elements, carried by said arm, said arm being mounted for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to the axes of the drafting elements, means associated with the bearings for the upper drafting elements engageable, when the arm is moved to operative position, with the corresponding lower element to insure the desired operational relationship between the upper and lower elements, and a single loading arm movable to and from an operative position in which it bears in common upon all the upper drafting elements.

2. Textile drafting apparatus comprising, in combination, a roller stand, a plurality of lower drafting elements, means for supporting said lower drafting elements in operative position" on said roller stand, a plurality of upper drafting elements, a carrying arm for said upper elements pivotal on said roller stand and movable to and from an operative position, holders for the respective upper elements mounted on said arm, the holders being provided with downwardly projecting members which, when the arm is located in the operative position, engage the corresponding lower elements and thereby locate and maintain the upper elements in a desired positional relationship in a fore-and-aft direction to that of the corresponding lower elements, and a single loading arm movable to and from an operative position in which it bears in common upon all the upper drafting elements.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein each holder is composed of two spaced side cheeks incorporating bearings for a roller element, and a cross-member connecting the side cheeks and attached to the pivotal arm, said side cheeks having downwardly projecting fingers which, when the arm is in the operative position, register with the peripheral face of a corresponding lower assesses roller element, said fingers constituting the downwardly projecting members which engage the lower elements.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the fingers are adjustable on the holder in a fore-and-aft direction for the purpose of varying the positional relationship of the axes of the upper and lower roller elements which are maintained in registration by said fingers.

5. Textile drafting apparatus comprising, in combination, a roller stand, a plurality of lower drafting elements, means supporting said elements in operative position on said roller stand, a plurality of upper drafting elements, an arm pivoted on said roller stand, said arm being equipped with open-top bearings for holding the upper elements so as to permit independent removal of each element without disturbance of the arm from its operative position, and an auxiliary loading arm pivotally mounted independently of the first arm for movement toward and from operative position, said arm auxiliary loading when in operative position, bearing in common against all the upper drafting elements.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the loading arm incorporates springs which, when said loading arm is located in the operative position, bear downwardly to apply loading pressure yieldingly to the upper drafting elements.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the loading arm springs are of the lead type, and on end of each spring is mounted upon said arm with capability of longitudinal adjustment according to variations in spacing of the upper drafting elements upon which the other ends of the springs are adapted to bear.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the upper drafting elements are loaded by saddle-weighting means carried by the loading arm, said weighting being efiected by dead weight suspended from the arm and tending to urge the same towards the operative position.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the upper drafting elements are loaded by saddle-weighting means carried by the loading arm, said weighting being effected by springs and tending to urge the same towards the operative position.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein means is provided for yieldably retaining the loading arm in a raised or inactive position, and wherein locking means is provided for locking the roller-supporting arm in a raised, inoperative position by engagement with the loading arm.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,597,850 Batista May 27, 1952 2,675,586 Hohloch Apr. 20, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 531,114 Great Britain Dec. 30, 1940 

